Stop & Shop strike over: What you need to know

The Stop & Shop produce section on Whalley Avenue in New Haven needs some restocking after an 11-day strike. Workers and customers returned to Stop & Shop stores on Monday, April 22, 2019.

The Stop & Shop produce section on Whalley Avenue in New Haven needs some restocking after an 11-day strike. Workers and customers returned to Stop & Shop stores on Monday, April 22, 2019.

Photo: Ben Lambert /Hearst Connecticut Media

Photo: Ben Lambert /Hearst Connecticut Media

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The Stop & Shop produce section on Whalley Avenue in New Haven needs some restocking after an 11-day strike. Workers and customers returned to Stop & Shop stores on Monday, April 22, 2019.

The Stop & Shop produce section on Whalley Avenue in New Haven needs some restocking after an 11-day strike. Workers and customers returned to Stop & Shop stores on Monday, April 22, 2019.

Photo: Ben Lambert /Hearst Connecticut Media

Stop & Shop strike over: What you need to know

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After an 11-day workers’ strike, Stop & Shop and five labor unions reached a tentative contract agreement on Sunday.

So, what happens next?

Here’s what you need to know.

Have Stop & Shop workers returned?

Yes.

Mark McGowan, Stop & Shop president, said “We’ve reached a tentative agreement with the unions, and the strike is over. This strike was hard for all of us. But we got to a resolution that does right by our associates and our business, so we can all keep serving our customers and communities.”

Will Stop & Shop stores now offer full service and fully-stocked shelves?

It will take some time for the 92 Connecticut Stop & Shops to resume full service.

The company said “our associates’ top priority will be restocking our stores so we can return to taking care of our customers and communities and providing them with the service they deserve,” the statement said.

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During the strike, branches of the labor union, which represent warehouse workers and truck drivers for the grocery giant, directed its members to honor picket lines. That resulted in the suspension of most food deliveries at Stop & Shop stores.

That meant that most stores did not have food deliveries during the strike.

With each passing day, stores are returning to normal.

Read what customers’ and workers’ said on the first day stores were open after the strike here.

What effect did the strike have on the food giant?

The company limited some store services during the strike. Bakery, customer service, deli, seafood counters and gas stations were not operational.

Those services have since been restored.

A leading national retail consultant estimated that the walkout by Stop & Shop workers is costing the grocery chain $2 million per week and likely cause the company to permanently lose a portion of its market share the longer the strike continues.

Bert Flickinger, managing director of New York City-based Strategic Resource Group, said the strike couldn’t have come at a worse time for Stop & Shop, which is owned by Danish-retail giant Ahold Delhaize. Holy week, the seven-day period leading to Easter, and Passover traditionally are among the busiest weeks annually in the supermarket business, Flickinger said.

Since the strike wasn’t settled before Passover and Holy Week, Stop & Shop could lose as much of 5 percent of its total annual sales and 4 percent of its profits for this year.

Will workers have to vote on the contract agreement?

The tentative three-year agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers union is subject to ratification votes by members of each of the union locals, the company said.

Ratification by the unions is expected.

WFCW President Mark Espinosa said “This is done. We have do have a deal.”

In a video to union members Sunday night, Espinosa said, “I am so proud to tell you that we’re walking in with a contract for you to vote on that we’re certainly going to recommend. This contract is going to give you for the future, the financial security, the dignity, the respect that you have all earned.”

He thanked customers for honoring the picket line in what he described as an “epic battle” against a “monster employer.”

He added, “Now that this is over, of course we want your customers to come back. We have show a professional and courteous attitude, and even with your store managers we have to put together relationships that have been somewhat tarnished. You have to put that in the back page and go forward.”

What were the main issues in the contract negotiations?

While specific contract details have not been released, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) issued a statement, calling the end of the strike that began on April 11 a “powerful victory.”

The UFCW statement said under the proposed contract, health care and retirement benefits are preserved, wage increases are provided and time-and-a-half pay on Sunday for current members will be maintained.

Stop & Shop said in a statement: “The tentative three-year agreements, which are subject to ratification votes by members of each of the union locals, include: Increased pay for all associates, continued “excellent” health coverage for eligible associates and ongoing defined benefit pension benefits for all eligible associates.

How long did the strike last?

Eleven days.

With nearly 350,000 working days lost to a walk-out, the Stop & Shop strike of 2019 rivals the Sikorsky strike of 2006 as the largest impacting Connecticut over the past three decades.